Russian language is a complex subject. We write words in a completely different way than they are actually pronounced. In speech, the same phonemes manifest themselves in different sound forms. Compare, for example, the words "honey" - [m'ot] and "honey" - [m'idok]. It all depends on whether phonemes occupy strong positions or weak positions within the word. Let's talk about this in more detail.
Strong and weak positions of sounds
Speech is a continuous stream of phonemes in which the pronunciation of sound is largely determined by its place in the word, neighboring vowels and consonants. In a weak position, articulation undergoes significant changes. Phonemes lose some of their characteristics, begin to appear in other versions. For example, [o] in an unstressed position begins to sound like [a]: [vada], [sava]. The final [g] is pronounced as [k]: [druk], [crook]. It is in such places that we make mistakes in writing.
In a strong position, the phoneme, on the contrary, is heard distinctly and stands in its main form. It does not depend on the position in the word; neighboring sounds do not affect its quality. This, for example, is a phoneme [o] in the words "water", "owl". Or the sound [g] in the words "friend", "around."
Morphological principle of spelling
Why should an ordinary person far from linguistics know the strong and weak positions of vowels and consonants of phonemes? The fact is that the spelling of 90% of Russian words is governed by the so-called morphological principle . According to him, we should not take into account phonetic alternations when we pick up a pen or type in text on the keyboard. Roots, suffixes, prefixes, endings are always written the same. Vowel reduction, softening of consonants before certain sounds, their voicing or stunning are not taken into account.
The conclusion follows: when writing, you can not rely on hearing. Only sounds in strong positions are written as they are heard. Everyone else needs to be checked. Having determined that the phoneme is in a weak position, we begin to select a test word with the same morpheme. For example, a tooth is a toothbrush, a lime tree is a pine tree, a trip is a train, and to the lamp is water . In the test word, the phoneme must be in a strong position, and stand in the same morpheme. Otherwise, you can make a mistake.
Strong and weak vowel positions
Already in elementary school, children know: the sound under stress is heard for a long time, clearly and does not need to be checked. We can safely write in the notebook the words "catfish", "myself." This is a strong vowel position.
A completely different thing is an unstressed position. Such a vowel is in a weak position, we pronounce it briefly, with less force, indistinctly. Compare the words soma and sama. They sound almost the same. In order not to make mistakes when writing them, students are taught to select test words.
The Russian language is characterized by:
- “hiccups” when unstressed [a] and [o] are pronounced the same way after firm consonants (for example, the words “at home”, “gave”);
- “hiccups”, in which unstressed [a] and [e] are indistinguishable after soft consonants (for example, in the words “ball” and “sword”).
Vowels [and], [y] and [s] in a weak position are pronounced shorter, but do not change their quality sound. However, caution is also better here. Unstressed [and], for example, can easily be confused with phonemes [a] and [e], standing after soft consonants.
Consonant Positions: Deaf and Voiced
Consonant sounds form pairs according to such criteria as “deaf-voiced” and “hard-soft”. Accordingly, the strong and weak positions of consonants are also determined by these two characteristics.
A strong position on the basis of "deaf-voiced" for consonants is the position:
- before the vowel: tom-house, fence-cathedral;
- in front of the sonorous: firewood - grass, layer - evil;
- before the letter “c”: the creator is a palace.
In these cases, consonants are heard clearly and do not require verification. It is hardly possible to make a mistake in writing sonorous sounds that do not have a pair of deafness. These include [l], [l '], [n], [n'], [p], [p '], [m], [m'], [y ']. The phonemes [x], [q], [x '], [u'] and [h '], on the contrary, do not have a clear pairing sound. They can occupy different positions in words, retaining their basic characteristics and not coinciding with other consonants in pronunciation.
When can consonants be voiced or stunned?
Now we will learn to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions of paired phone calls. In what cases do we run the risk of making a mistake on a letter? This position:
- at the end of the word, where both voiced and deaf phonemes coincide in their sound: eye - voice, oak - blunt, bitches - meadow;
- in front of a paired sonorous sound, when a nearby consonant is also pronounced loudly: shave off - [zb] rit, give - about [dd] at;
- before a deaf consonant, when a nearby sound is stunned: a spoon - lo [shk] a, entrance - [fx] od.
To avoid mistakes, we must understand the morpheme of the dubious sound. Then find a test word where the desired phoneme is in a strong position. So that this does not take much time, training is needed. We select the test words for the examples above: eye - eyes, voice - voices, oak - oak, dull - dull, bitches - bitch, meadow - meadows; shave - fold, give - move off; spoon - to impose, the entrance - to the left.
Consonant Positions: Hardness and Softness
The time has come to consider the strong and weak positions of consonants based on such a feature as “hard-soft”. Here we face many dangers. The morphological principle does not always save. For example, the sounds [g] and [w] are always solid, but we know that in some cases a soft sign (rye, hear) is written after them. After the solid [c], the letter “s” (chicken) or “and” (circus) can stand.
The sounds [h '] and [uh'] are always pronounced softly, but from the first class we remember the spelling of the syllables "cha-cha" and "chu-chu". There is another principle, called traditional or historical. Only a clear knowledge of the rules of the Russian language will save from error.
Nevertheless, back to the theory. In which case consonants having a pair of hardness-softness do not change their qualitative characteristics? This position:
- before the vowel: [mal] - [m'al], [ox] - [v'ol], [bow] - [l'uk], [everyday life] - [b'it '];
- at the end of the word: [con] - [con '], [brother] - [brother'];
- absolutely anything for phonemes [l], [l ']: in [ln] a - in [l'n] a, according to [l'z] a - according to [lz] et;
- in front of the back-lingual [g], [k], [x], [g '], [k'], [x '] and hard labial [b], [m], [p] for front-language sounds: go [rk] a - go [r'k] o, and [zb] a - re [z'b] a;
- before solid dental [s], [h], [c], [d], [t], [l], [n] for dental: ko [ns] cue - ju [n's] cue;
- in front of solid anterolinguistic [c], [h], [t], [d], [ts], [l], [r], [n], [sh], [g] for sonorous anterolanguages: Jan [rs] cue - September [r’s] cue, ma [nzh] eta - de [n'zh] ata.
Weak positions on the characteristic "softness - hardness"
There are positions in which solid consonants are softened under the influence of neighboring sounds. They are classified as weak. This position:
- Before [y ']: raven - voro [n'y'o]. An exception is made by consonants at the end of the prefix before [th ']: [vy'est] - entry.
- Before soft tooth for sounds [c], [n], [h]: besides [c't '] e, [z'd'] all.
- In front of the phonemes [h '] and [uh'] for the sound [n]: baraba [n'sh '] ik, steering [n'ch'] ik.
In general, it is very difficult to distinguish between strong positions and weak positions on the basis of "hard-soft consonant". The fact is that not all cases can be selected examples. So, in Russian before [n] we find only solid [m]: compote, shampoo, etc. Not a single word has a sound [m '] in this position. Therefore, we cannot be sure until the end whether the phoneme [m] or [m '] is realized here.
Absolute Consonant Positions
To summarize. With vowels, everything is clear. If they are stressed, the position is considered strong. If the stress falls on another phoneme in the word, then the position is weak. Consonants are getting harder.
For example, in the word “tooth” the sound at the end is stunned. The position on the basis of "voiced-deafness" will be weak. But she is strong on a soft-hard scale. When weak positions coincide on both characteristics, the phoneme is considered absolutely weak. It realizes itself in various variations and requires the use of spelling rules.
It happens that the consonant is in a strong position both on the basis of "voiced-deaf" and on the characteristic "soft - hard". Often this is observed in the position in front of the vowel sound. This position is called absolutely strong.
Everyone who wants to write correctly needs to know the strong positions and weak positions of phonemes. This will allow time to determine the "erroneous" place in the word and remember the corresponding rule.